Tokyo Drifter Blu-ray & DVD (Criterion)
RELEASE DATE: December 13, 2011
In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer Phoenix Tetsu’s attempt to go straight is squashed when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang.
This onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors got director Seijun Suzuki in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who were put off by his anything-goes, in-your-face aesthetic, equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller, and Nagisa Oshima.
Tokyo Drifter is a delirious highlight of the brilliantly excessive Japanese cinema of the sixties. Check out the trailer.
– New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
– Video piece featuring new interviews with director Seijun Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu
– Interview with Suzuki from 1997
– Original theatrical trailer
– New and improved English subtitle translation
– PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Howard Hampton
Didn’t know it actually made money for them.
I haven’t seen this movie in years but I remember it being flat-out amazing. The heavy black cover art doesn’t really give an indication of just how colorful the film is!